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July 15, 2009

Police: Youths robbed cars during ‘Potter’

by Sam Savage

Police in Massachusetts said two youths are accused of stealing more than $5,000 worth of electronics from cars while the owners were watching Harry Potter.

Investigators said a man waiting for his daughter outside Regal Cinemas in Barnstaple called police after spotting two young men checking car doors in the movie theater's parking lot at about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday, during the initial screenings of the latest film in the popular Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the Cape Cod (Mass.) Times reported Wednesday.

Barnstable Sgt. Sean Sweeney said an officer arrived at the theater and stopped Michael Gardner, 18, for questioning. The second youth, a 15-year-old not identified by police, fled, but was found a short time later by an officer in a wooded area near the cinema.

The teenagers allegedly admitted the iPods in their pockets were stolen from unlocked cars in the movie theater parking lot and a K-9 officer's dog tracked down two backpacks in the wooded area containing iPods, several cell phones, a laptop computer and identification cards.

Both suspects were arrested and charged with seven counts of breaking and entering a motor vehicle in the night, six counts of larceny of property over $250 and one count of painting graffiti.